Opinion

Jobs mantra pays off, except when it doesn't

Scott Walker promised that Wisconsin would have 250,000 more jobs by the end of his first term - and with the help of his colleagues in the Legislature, the governor is on his way to meeting that goal.

The fall session produced a whole passel of bills designed to get Wisconsin working again.

Now, we were skeptical at first. Who would have thought that some of these ideas would create jobs?

Think of all those new liquor store clerks. Think of all the dollars wasted on lawyers. Why not redeploy some of that money into more productive parts of the economy - maybe into homes owned by state Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester), who recently had to pay legal fees in a dispute with a former tenant, making him an expert on the issue of lawyer fees. Strangely, he never mentioned that during the debate over the bill to limit legal fees.

And finally . . . what about all those new positions for guards that will be needed to calm the rattling nerves of gun-shy legislators (pretty much any Democrat)?

The possibilities!

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Here's a state program that is doing some good: Wisconsin Jobs tax credits, an idea pushed through the Legislature earlier this year by Republicans. Those credits helped persuade Bostik Inc. to consolidate recently its U.S. headquarters, administrative and research-and-development functions in Wauwatosa, a move that will created 76 jobs by 2014, the company says.

Bostik is a French manufacturer of adhesives and sealants that employs 4,600 people worldwide and had sales of $1.8 billion in 2010. The company will seek to move scientists from R&D centers in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, it says.

And here's something we don't hear every day: Wauwatosa was selected over Paris and Shanghai to be a research center of excellence. The local office was chosen because it is already doing research into the kind of work that will be conducted there and because of a strong talent pool from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University.

Bostik received an offer of $1.5 million in Wisconsin Jobs tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

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Come next spring, if Milwaukee officials give their approval, life will begin to return to a forgotten 17-acre patch of ground just south of the Harley-Davidson Museum.

Reed Street Yards will get new streets and other infrastructure and - eventually - will become home to a business incubator and business park focused on water technology companies. The incubator will be housed in a solid old building at the corner of Pittsburgh Ave. and Third St. that overlooks the vacant land. Eventually, some of those prospective companies inside the incubator may make their way onto the Yards and put up buildings.

Right now, this is a dream - but one fairly easy to see on a sun-splashed autumn day. The Yards are overgrown and scruffy now, but they sit in a strategic location, flanked by other reclaimed land - the Iron Horse Hotel, the gleaming white Sixth St. Bridge, the Third Ward and the Menomonee Valley.

It's a good investment by the city. The Common Council should give it swift approval.

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Kristyna Wentz-Graff is an award-winning photojournalist whose singular goal is to report the news. Unfortunately, Wentz-Graff became a part of the story she was reporting on Wednesday during a protest near UWM.

Wentz-Graff was arrested, apparently, for not leaving the street as Milwaukee police tried to clear N. Oakland Ave.

We use the word "apparently" because Wentz-Graff was released without being charged and without being told why she was arrested. She was grabbed forcibly, pushed against a squad car, handcuffed and taken away despite having told the officer she was a journalist.

Wentz-Graff had not yet arrived at the scene when, earlier in the demonstration, police told protesters they had to leave the street.

By the time they moved to make the first arrest, police had blocked Oakland with a squad car, and Wentz-Graff put herself in a position to report that news. Her press credentials, which hung from a tag around her neck, were clearly visible. Had she been asked to move, she would have moved. She wasn't asked.

Her treatment Wednesday, though certainly not a major incident in the grand scheme of things, does raise the question of whether police respect the role of the press. As Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters, "It was evident she was a photographer. It was evident she had press credentials around her neck, from what I could see. I don't think it was necessary for her to be handcuffed."

Journalists represent the public. We don't ask for more rights than the public - or deserve them. But we do expect respect from the authorities. That was lacking near the UWM campus on Wednesday.

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Paul Brophy talks a lot about the idea of "collective impact." That means getting community leaders organized around an issue, setting specific goals and fighting for them for years. We like that approach. We think it can work. In fact, it already has worked in the city.

Brophy's new report, "Community Development in Milwaukee: An Assessment and Recommendations," makes the point that independent organizations advocating for specific neighborhoods around Milwaukee have faded and what's needed is better coordination and a new commitment. The report takes note of a number of worthy efforts, including the $50 million Zilber Neighborhood Initiative. But more is needed - much more.

"It requires a level of cooperation that simply doesn't exist here - and that's not to pick on Milwaukee," Brophy said. "It doesn't exist in most places."

Leo Ries, executive director of LISC Milwaukee, is pushing hard for such "collective impact." Local Initiatives Support Corp. is a local chapter of a national organization that works on the ground to improve neighborhoods. LISC is a key component in our city and has done great work over the years (Ries explains his vision in an op-ed in Sunday's Crossroads section).

Collaboration - it's a great word for Milwaukee.

"On, Wisconsin" is written by members of the Journal Sentinel's Editorial Board.